From a former NRA member

As a former Army officer, competition target shooter and gunsmith, I held membership with the NRA and believed their mantra that we all needed guns to protect the nation against possible tyranny by the government. This seems to be the intent of the Second Amendment.
My epiphany came when George W. Bush did as much damage to the Bill of Rights and our Constitution as we’re likely to see, and the NRA said not a word. In my many encounters with responsible and rational gun owners, I also realize that many people, who have mental issues, whether from conspiracy paranoia, feeling ineffectual in a highly competitive society, social alienation, or psycho-sexual powerlessness, feel that a gun will give them the power and influence that society fails to. Obviously, this country has a long way to go to help those individuals. But if we are going to have any hope of creating a safer, saner, and more inclusive culture, we have to keep guns out of the hands of those who view them as a means to vent their hate and fear at others.
If the NRA hopes to start actually protecting this country and its citizens, it should support closing the loopholes for gun shows, online sales and the gray market for cheap guns. It should back stopping the sale of assault weapons, high capacity magazines, and armor-piercing bullets, except for law enforcement. No hunter needs those. If assault weapons are so important for civilians to have, how many instances have we heard of such weapons being used to save people from the bad guys? And they should support stronger background checks, stiffer sentences for gun-related crimes, and fines for adults who leave an unlocked gun in the presence of children. My personal suggestion: lock up the ammo. Control it as tightly as the guns should be controlled. My analogy is that if you couldn’t take people’s cars away, you could control the sale of gas to them. The Second Amendment mentions “arms”, not ammunition. Actually, Congress and the courts could view that amendment in the context of the writers of it, and limit “arms” to single-shot muzzle-loaders.